Hair-waving device



HAIR 'AVING DEVICE Filed April 15. 1931 2 SheetsvSheet 1 .225 insu/an INVENTOR By lorneys, @Lau/wrm Feb- 12, 1935 B. F. JANcKE y y HAIR wAvING DEVICE Filed April 15, 1931 `2 sheets-sheet 2 Saa ' INVENTOR i MJ?- By Atlomeys,

,being brought to the Patented Feb. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAIR-WAVING DEVICE Benno F. Jancke, Brooklyn,

Shelton-Jancke Corporation,

N. Y., assignor to East Orange,

24 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in hair-waving devices by means of which heated vapors of the compounds to be used may be brought into intimate association with the hair to be treated. It comprises essentially a laminated structure adapted for direct application to the hair and having between its folds an electric heating element the terminals of which may be directly connected in an electric circuit. Preferably the heating element should be in the form of a strip of thin fiat metal, a relatively large portion of the surface of which may be caused to closely follow the surface of the hair to be treated. In its preferred form the invention also provides for the equal distribution of the heat by associating with the electric heating element a continuous sheet of metal foil. The laminated structure may also include the usual layer of absorbent material, which may be applied directly to the surface of the hair to be treated, and the heating element may be interposed between this layer of absorbent material and a layer of impervious material capable of preventing the premature escape of heated vapors which are produced substantially at atmospheric pressure when the device is in use.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device having a heating element capable of desired temperature when its terminals are connected in a circuit of relatively low voltage, and by means of which the heat may be very uniformly distributed over.the surface of the hair being treated.

It is a further object f f the invention to conne the heat used in the waving operation to the zone within which it is effective, thereby avoiding the necessity of developing unnecessary heat which might otherwise be a source of discomfort and annoyance to the person whose hair is being treated.

It is a still further object of the invention to reduce the weight of the hair-waving apparatus, which must be directly secured to the hair during the waving operation, to a minimum, thus further contributing to the comfort of the person whose hair is being treated.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating preferred forms of the invention,-

Figure 1 is a face view of a flexible laminated steaming pad with applicants invention applied thereto, parts thereof being indicated as having been torn and folded back to show underlying structure.

Fig. 2 is the opposite face view of the same pad, of which parts are similarly represented.

(Cl. 21S-24) Fig. 3 is an end view Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a face view of a modified form of pad with the invention applied, parts thereof being represented as having been torn away to show underlying structure.

Fig. 5 is an end view by Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a view of a pad which may be rolled into tubular form before being applied to the hair, parts thereof being represented as having been torn away to show underlying structure.

Fig. 7 is an edge view of the pad illustrated in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an edge view of the same pad as seen from a different direction.

Fig. 9 is a side view of a hair-Waving tube formed by rolling the pad illustrated in Fig. 6.

Fig. 10 is an end view of the hair-waving tube illustrated in Fig. 9.

Referring first to Figs. l, 2 and 3, the invention comprises a laminated pad having interposed between its opposite surface folds an electric heating element 20. In its preferred form this heating element comprises a relatively thin flat strip of metal of an electrical resistance such as to be heated to the desired temperature when its terminals 21, 22 are connected in a circuit capable of producing a predetermined diference of potential. The particular metal or alloy to be selected for use in making the heater will depend upon its desired size and the voltage of the circuit in which it is to be connected. For use at low Avoltages a copper zinc alloy has been found satisfactory. Preferably the particular alloy used and the length and cross-sectional area of the strip of heating material should be such as to cause the heater to quickly attain the desired temperature to vaporize moisture in the heating pad Without requiring the terminals of the heating element to be subjected to a materially greater difference of potential than two volts. At this low voltage the terminals between which the heater is connected could be applied to the surface of the human body without resulting in any perceptible sensation. The heater should be of a form such as to distribute its surface over the part of the pad which is to be brought in contact with the hair to be treated. One satisfactory form, illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, is that of a grid, which, as shown, may comprise a sinuous strip of metal having parallel elements 23 connected in alternation at their ends as at 24, thus producing a single path for of the pad shown in of the pad illustrated the current from one terminal to the other. A grid of this form may be so constructed as to be of the desired resistance and of a thickness such as to be readily bent with the other layers of the pad around the hair to be treated.

The electric heating element 20 may be insulated from the other elements of the pad by heat-resisting material, by means of which the charring of any paper which may be used in the pad may be prevented while in use. One satisfactory means of insulating the heater, as herein disclosed, consists in placing it between two thin layers 25, 26 of asbestos fibre sheet.

Associated with the above-described heating element the pad should include in appropriate form a sheet of absorbent material or other suitable medium capable of holding moisture, such as the solutions commonly in use in the waving of hair, and one or more sheets of impervious material to prevent the premature escape of steam or heated vapor which results from the energization of the electric heating element.

Instead of constructing the electric heating element of thin sheet material as a means of more uniformly transmitting the heat to the hair, the heating element may be associated with one or more sheets of thin metal foil adapted to serve as a heat distributor, and this sheetmetal may, if desired, be relied upon as the impervious material by which the premature escape of heated vapors may be prevented. Preferably the sheet material will. be used in combination with the improved heating element in the form of a sheet-metal grid, and one or more additional layers of parchment or other appropriate impervious material will be used in addition to the layer or layers of metal.

In the form of pad illustrated in Figs. 1, 2' and 3, the insulation for the heater comprises a single sheet of asbestos fibre folded at 27 (Fig. 3) to form the two layers 25, 26. The heater and asbestos fibre sheet 25, 26, 2'? are next inserted between two layers 28, 29 of aluminum foil or other appropriate thin sheet-metal, which may comprise parts of a single piece folded as at 30 (Fig. 3).

The insulated heater and metal foil may. in turn, be inserted between two leaves 31, 32 of parchment or other impervious material, which may comprise parts of a single sheet folded as at 33 (Fig. 3).

To one surface of the laminated structure thus built up may be applied one or more layers 34 of cotton flannel or other suitable absorbent material, and, if desired, the entire structure may be secured together in any appropriate manner, as by a single line of stitching 35.

The form of pad illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is adapted to be applied to a strand of hair rolled from the outer end toward the scalp in accordance with what is known as the Croquignole or Croquinole system, with the surface to which the absorbent layers have been attached in contact with the surface of the hair and with the portions just within the margins of the pad tucked well under the roll of hair. The pad may then be secured in place by the use of an ordinary spring clamp instead of using the heavier and more complicated clamp of the prior art, which is also the heating element reliedy upon to vaporize the solutions with which the absorbent material of the pad is moistened before use. When thus clamped about the roll of hair the terminals 21, 22 may be bent up in a direction leading outwardly from the head and connected with the terminals of an energizing circuit of the desired potential. This connection between the source of electromotive force and the heater of the steaming pad may be effected by the usual cord attachments having any appropriate type of spring clamp at their ends which may be snapped onto the terminals 2l.

If desired, the terminals 21, 22' may, as shown, be of greater width than the elements 23, 24 of the heater so as to have a relatively greater current-carrying capacity, whereby they may be maintained at a relatively low temperature as compared with the intermediate parts of the heater.

In Figs. 4 and 5 is illustrated a modified pad embodying the invention adapted to be wrapped about a coil of hair after it has been wound about a curling rod from the scalp outwardly in a manner well known in the art. This pad may comprise a heating element 20', which may be substantially like the one illustrated in Figs.

1, 2 and 3 except that, for a reason to be hereinafter explained, the terminal 21' extends laterally from one end of theheater whereas the terminal 22 extends longitudinally from the other end. In the heater of Figs. 4 and 5 the elements 23 are connected by rounded end portions 24 instead of the squared end portions 24 of the heater shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

The pad in Figs. 4 and 5 corresponds with that illustrated in Figs. l, 2 vand 3 to the -extent that the heating element is enveloped between two layers 25', 26' of thin sheet asbestos fibre, and the two pads are further similar in that in each pad the heater and its insulation are inserted in an envelope each wall of which comprises a layer of metal and a layer of parchment. These pads differ, however, in the following respects: The folded edges 27, 30 and 33 of the sheets of material from`which the pad illustrated in Figs. 1, 2

and 3 is constructed are disposed in alternation at the opposite margins of the structure. The layers of the pad illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, on the contrary. are parts of three sheets of material having their folded edges 27', 30' and 33 all at the same margin of the pad, as indicated in Fig. 5. The pad illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 differs further from that illustrated in Figs. 1, 2

and 3 in that the parchment pad comprising the leaves 31', 32 is of greater length than the leaves of metal foil, and the sheet from which the metal leaves are made is passed through a slit 36 (Fig. 5) in the parchment pad so that the leaf 28 lies without the parchment leaf 31 whereas the metal leaf 29' lies between the leaf 26 of asbestos ilbre and the leaf 32 of parchment.

The layer or layers 34' of the pad illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 are secured to the surface of the pad having the exposed layer 32' of parchment so as to extend outwardly and increase the width of the pad. The layer 28 of metal foil at the opposite surface is of greater length than the other and extends in the opposite direction. This pad is wound about the hair to be curled in the usual manner beginning at the left end, with the upper surface as represented in Fig. 5 in contact with the hair. When thus applied the layers of cotton flannel are wound directly around the hair to be treated, the laminated part of the pad in which the heater is embedded makes substantially one complete turn about the flannel, and the extra length of metal insures a complete externally-disposed metal envelope for the pad as thus applied. It will be under stood that a scalp protector of any appropriate form may be used about the strand of .hair at the inner end of the coil, and that the inner end of the tube formed by applying the pad may be closed about the hair by any suitable form of clamp. The ends of the parchment leaves 31', 32 may each be extended beyond the ends of the leaves of metal and of asbestos fibre at the upper end of the pad as illustrated in Fig. 4, in order to afford a firm wall of material between the hair and the clamp. At the opposite end of the pad the parchment sheet 31' need not be materially extended beyond the ends of the sheets of metal and asbestos fibre, thus leaving the terminal 22' exposed at the outer surface of the pad. The extended portion of the parchment layer 32 affords suicient material to twist about the end of the strand of hair and prevent undue escape of the heated vapor.

In applying the pad illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 as above described, the upper end of the pad as represented in Fig. 4 will be disposed nearest the scalp, and the extension of the terminal 21 laterally from the grid portion of the heater facilitates the connection between said terminal and the terminal of the electric circuit from which the heater is to receive energy, Whereas some difficulty might be encountered in making such connection if the terminal at the scalp end of the pad were to extend longitudinally as does the terminal 22 at the end of the pad which is directed away from the scalp.

In vorder that the terminal 21 may not come in contact with the overlying sheet of metal foil 28', the sheet of foil is tapered as at 37 so as to be spaced away from the terminal where it emerges from the protecting sheets of insulation 26.

As in the case of the pad illustrated in Figs. l, 2 and 3, the parts of the pad illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 may all be connected together by a single line of stitching In Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 is disclosed a device embodying the principles of the above-described invention adapted to be prepared in the form of a tube to be slipped endwise over a strand of hair after it has been wound upon the curling rod. This pad is in many respects quite similar to those already described. It may comprise an electric heating element 20" having parallel strips of metal 23, connecting portions 24", and terminals 21", 22", all substantially like the corresponding elements of the heater illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. This heater may be enveloped between leaves 25", 26" of thin sheet asbestos nbre, which may comprise a single piece folded at 27". The insulated heater may be enveloped between leaves 28", 29" of thin metal foil, which may comprise parts of a single piece folded at 30", and the laminated structure thus formed may be superimposed upon a parchment element preferably folded as at 33" to provide two layers 31, 32". To the surface of the laminated structure opposite that which faces the parchment may be applied one or more layers of cotton flannel 34. The heater of this modification and that of the modifications previously described may be secured between the sheets of insulation in any appropriate manner as by means of a suitable adhesive.

'Ihe laminated structure may be of a` length approximately that of the coil of hair to be treated and of a width such as to cause it to completely encircle the coil of hair. The parchi3 ment may extend beyond the aminated structure at each end so as to afford material to be closed upon the strand ci? hair in the usual manner, and the parchment may extend beyond one edge of the laminated structure, as indicated in the drawings, to a sufficient extent to entirely encircle the laminated structure when rolled into the tubular form illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10. When thus rolled it will be seen that the elements of the grid portion of the heater are well distributed throughout the lengthv and circumference of the part of the tube which surrounds the hair to be treated. After the pad has been rolled into tubular form it may be secured in any appropriate manner, as by means of an adhesive.

vIn assembling the parts of the device illustrated in Figs. 6 to 10, inclusive, the terminals 21" and 22" may be bent substantially at right angles to the body portion of the heater and extended through slits 38, 39 in the parchment so as to be exposed at the outer surface of the finished tube, as indicated in Figs. 9 and 10.

In using the tube form of pad the lower end, as illustrated in Fig. 8, is the one to be placed nearest the scalp, and the double fold of parchment at this end of the tube affords a firm wall to be clamped against the hair. The lat erally-extending heater terminal 2l at this end of the tube facilitates connection with the terminal of suitable electrical apparatus. The single layer of parchment atthe opposite end of the tube may be twisted into close contact with the hair, and the metal portion near the end may be crushed into contact with the hair to any desired extent.

It will be obvious that in Figs. 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9 the various layers of material have been spread apart for purposes of illustration, thus resulting in an apparent thickness much greater than that of the pads which they represent. v

The heating element used in the construction of the above-described hair-waving pads may be readily made by stamping the grid and its terminals from a sheet of metal of appropriate thickness. The use of a heating element of this form whether with or without the heat distributor of metal foil is a marked improvement over a heating element made of wire of the usual circular form of cross-section in that it affords many times the effective heating surface, and the heating surface is so disposed that all parts can be maintained at an equal distance from the surface of the coil of hair to be treated. The use of the sheet-metal foil as a heat distributor, whether with a heating element made of wire of ordinary circular cross-sectional form or of the improved grid-like structure, further enhances the unifom distribution of heat throughout the surface of the pad in contact with the hair.

The herein-described improved heating pads afford the requisite steaming capacity with a minimum transformation of energy into heat, since the heat is localized at the exact points at which it is to be used, and this localization and economy in the application and use of heat results in apparatus of minimum weight, thus further contributing to the comfort of the person whose hair is being treated.

The invention is not intended to be limited to the specific forms herein disclosed for purposes of illustration, but should be regarded as comprising modifications and variations thereof within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A hair-waving device in the form of a flexible, laminated, sheet-like structure capable of being wrapped around the lhair to be treated and comprising a moisture holder, impervious material to prevent premature escape of heated vapor at atmospheric pressure, anda heating element comprising a thin flat strip of metal having terminals by which it may be directly connected in an electric circuit.

2. 'A hair-waving device, as defined by claim 1, of which the heating element comprises a 'stamped sheet-metal grid.

3. A hair-waving device, as defined by claim 1, of which the heating element comprises a sinuous grid.

4. In a flexible hair-Waving device comprising a moisture holder, impervious material to prevent premature escape of heated vapor at atmospheric pressure, and heating means to vaporize moisture, all assembled for use as a unit, the combination of a flexible heating element having terminals by which it may be directly connected in an electric circuit and a heat distributor comprising flexible sheet-metal insulated from but closely associated with said heater.

5. The combination defined by claim 4, of which the heater comprises a stamped sheetmetal grid and the distributor comprises a continuous sheet of metal, said heater and distributor being assembled as closely-spaced layers of a laminated structure.

6. The combination dened by claim 4, of which the heater comprises a sinuous grid and the distributor comprises a continuous sheet of metal, said heater and distributor being assemlbled as closely-spaced layers of a laminated structure.

CFI

7. A flexible hair-waving device comprising a sheet of absorbent material, an electric heating element of thin at sheet-metal having terminals by which it may be directly connected in an electric circuit, and a sheet of material impervious to heated vapor at atmospheric pressure, said parts being assembled in a unit adapted to be applied to the hair to be treated as a laminated structure, with the absorbent material within the impervious material, and the heater interposed as an intervening layer between the. two.

8. A iiexible hair-waving device comprising a sheet of absorbent material, an electric heating element of thin flat sheet-metal, a heat distributor comprising a thin sheet of metal,l and a sheet of insulating material, said parts being assembled in a unit adapted to be applied to the hair to be treated as a laminated structure, with the absorbent material within the distributor and the insulating material between the heater and the distributor.

9. In a laminated hair-waving device adapted for direct application to the hair to be treated, a thin flexible sheet of metal to serve as a heat distributor, a flexible electric heating element extended along one surface of said metal sheet, and heat-resistant insulating material separating said sheet from said heating element.

10. In a laminated hair-waving device adapted for direct application to the hair to be treated, a layer of exible heat-resistant insulating material, a flexible electric heating elementl extended along one surface of said insulating layer, and a heat distributor comprising a thin exible sheet of metal lying along the opposite surface of said insulating layer.

11. A flexible laminated hair-waving device comprising a layer of absorbent material, a layer of impervious material to prevent the premature escape of heated vapor at atmospheric pressure, a thin sheet of metal to serve as a heat distributor, and an insulated electric heating element extended along one surface of said metal sheet, the layers being so disposed 'that the `absorbent material may lie between the hair to be treated and the heat distributor, the heating element and heat distributor being interposed .adjacent each other between the absorbent layer and the layer of impervious material.

12. A flexible laminated hair-waving device comprising a layer of absorbent material, a layer of impervious material to prevent the premature escape of heated vapor at atmospheric pressure, a thin sheet of metal to serve as a heat distributor, andan insulated electric heating element extended along one surface of said metal sheet, the layers being so disposed that the heat distributor may lie between the heating element and the absorbent layer, the heating element being interposed between the heat distributor and the'layer of impervious material, whereby the layer of absorbent material may be applied to the hair, and the hair, absorbent ma.-

terial, heat distributor and heater enclosed by the layer of impervious material.

13. A laminated hair-waving device compris-` ing a thin sheet-metal gidto serve as an electric heating element, layers of heat-resistant insulating material applied to the opposite sur- :ll

faces of said grid, layers of thin sheet-metal applied to the outer surfaces of said layers of insulating material to serve as a heat distributor, layers of .impervious material applied to the outer surfaces of said layers of sheet-metal to prevent premature escape of heated vapor at atmospheric pressure, and a layer of absorbent material applied to the outer surface of one of said sheets of impervious material.

14.. A laminated hair-waving device, as defined by claim 13, having its sheets of insulating inaterial, sheet-metal, 'impervious material, and absorbent material all secured together by a single row of stitching.

15. A laminated hair-waving device, as delned by claim 13, of which each pair of layers of like material comprises a single sheet folded once, the folded sheets being assembled one within the other with their folded margins alternately disposed in opposite directions and the various layers of sheet material being secured together by a single line of stitching along the open margin of the outermost folded sheet.

16. A laminated hair-waving device comprising a thin sheet-metal grid to serve as an electric heating element, layers of heat-resistant insulating material applied to the opposite surfaces of said grid, a layer of thin sheet-metal applied to the outer surface of one of said layers of insulating material, a layer of impervious material applied to the outer surface of the other layer of insulating material, a second layer of thin sheet-metal applied to the outer surface of said layer of impervious material, a second layer of impervious material applied to the outer surface of the first layer of metal, and a layer of absorbent material extended outwardly from the surface ofl said laminated structure having the layer of impervious material outermost.

17. A laminated hair-waving device as defined by claim 16, having all o! its layers of sheet material secured together by a single row of stitching.

18.` A laminated hair-waving device, as dened by claim 16, of which each pair of layers o! sheet-metal and impervious material comprises a single sheet folded once, the folded edges of the two sheets being disposed at the same margin of the laminated structure, one o! said sheets being longer than the other and slitted at the fold and the other folded sheet having one of its leaves passed through the slit to reverse the order of the metal sheets and impervious sheets at opposite sides of the interposed sheets of insulating material.

19. A hair-Waving device consisting of a ilexible, laminated, sheet-like unit rolled to tubular form and having an electric heating element interposed between its inner and outer layers, said heating element having exposed terminal portions extended through slits in the material of the tube external to the heating element.

20. A hair-waving device consisting of a ilexible, laminated, sheet-like unit rolled to tubular form and having an electric heating element interposed between its inner and outer layers, said heating element comprising a thin grid of stamped sheet-metal.

21. A hair-waving device consisting of a ilexible, laminated, sheet-like unit rolled to tubular form and having an electric heating element interposed between its inner and out-er layers, said heating element comprising a sinuous thin fiat metal strip.

22. A hair-waving device in the form of a flexible, laminated, sheet-like structure capable of being wrapped around the hair to be treated and having as one of its elements an electric heating element comprising a sinuous grid of thin flexible sheet-metal.

23. A hair-waving device, as defined by claim 22, of which the grid has extended terminal portions of greater cross-sectional area than that of the portion between said terminals.

24. A hair-waving dewce, as defined by claim 22, of which the grid has extended terminal portions at its opposite ends, one extended longitudinally and the other laterally.

BENNO F. JANCKE. 

